Combined high chair and stroller



Oct. 31, 1950 M. G. RILEY ETAL COMBINED HIGH CHAIR AND STROLLER 2Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 27, 1946 INVENTOR5. Mar/v15 61 19/7? Edward ME/ g ,2 6' Q ATTORN Oct. 31, 1950 M. G. RILEY ETAL 2,523,452

COMBINED HIGH CHAIR AND STROLLER Filed May 27, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 2IIIIW INVENTORS. Mar/7.5 6i Eflgy Edward M Edgy Patented Oct. 31, 1950OFFICE COIWBINED HI GH CHAIR AND STROLLER Morris G. Riley and Edward M.Riley, Kansas City, Mo.

Application May 27, 1946, Serial No. 672,379

3 Claims.

This invention relates to articles of furniture and particularly to highchairs for infants, and the primary object is to provide a high chair ofthe character capable of conversion into a vehicle or carriageforinfants such as strollers or the like.

a One of the most important objects of this invention is to provide acombination high chair and stroller for infants having collapsiblesupporting structure, which structure when in an upright positionsupports the seating assembly thereof in a raised condition adaptablefor use as a high chair, and when in a collapsed condition supports theseating assembly in a lowered condition, rendering the same adaptable tobe used as a stroller.

Another important aim of this invention is to provide a chair-likestructure having collapsible supporting means and a wheel assembly onthe supporting means, which wheels carry the entire structure when thesupporting means is in a collapsed condition to permit use thereof as astroller, and which wheels are moved to an inoperative position when thesupporting means is in an upright position to prevent free movementthereof when the structure is utilized as a high chair.

A still further aim of this invention is to provide a chair-likestructure having collapsible supporting means for converting theassembly from a high chair to a stroller, and an uniquely disposed andspecially designed handle for manipulation thereof when used as astroller, which handle is also capable of holding the collapsiblesupport in an upright position when the structure is to be used as ahigh-chair.

Another object of this invention is the provision of a chair-likestructure for infants having a tray slidably mounted thereon andincluding novel means to fix the tray in a, number of positions whichmeans consists of a yoke of resilient material adapted for engagementwith the tray and being capable of releasing the same for readjustmentor removal altogether from the said structure.

Additional objects and advantages will become apparent throughout thefollowing specification wherein:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a combined high chair andstroller forming a part of my invention illustrating the same incondition for use as a stroller.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary top plan view of the arms of the chair withparts broken away to illustrate the manner of mounting the holding meansfor the tray.

Fig. 3 isa cross-sectional view showing the structure in condition foruse as a high chair, and

Fig. 4 is an enlarged cross sectional view taken on line IV-IV of Fig.3.

It has been found particularly desirable in the manufacture of strollersfor children still in the infant stage to provide a stroller that may bequickly and easily converted into a high chair when so desired,especially in view of the inconvenience of feeding the child inrestaurants, soda grills and the like. A stroller that is capable of useas a high chair, that can be moved near the table or counter in a store,that has interchangeable tray and hand rail features as a part thereof,and a stroller that is highly maneuverable over curbs and otherdifficult terrain is therefore extremely advantageous.

A chair-like structure as illustrated in the accompanying drawings isgenerally designated by the numeral l0 and consists of a frame [2, aseat It fixed thereto by bolts IS, a back rest I8 on the frame I 2, andadditional framework 20 interconnecting the seat I4 and the back rest l8and mounted to the former through the medium of the bolts IS. A pair ofarm rests 22 is carried in spaced relation by the frame 20.

Side panels 24 and a bottom wall 26 on the frame :2 provides a partiallyenclosed chamber immediately below the seat M to contain items ofmerchandise, articles of clothing for the child, or other necessaryneeds such as toys or the like when the assembly is used as a strolleras illustrated in Fig. 1.

Each of a pair of supporting members designated by the numeral 28 inspaced relation below bottom 26, consists of a pair of legs 30 and 32,which legs are crossed and pivotally connected as at 34. Brackets 36extending below the bottom 26 near each rearward corner thereofpivotally mount the legs 32. A pair of link members 38 pivotally fixedto the ends of a foot rest 40 and pivotally joined to each of the legs30 of the supporting members 28, complete the supporting framework torender it completely collapsible and permitting the alternate positionsshown in Figs. 1 and 3.

Iwo pairs of wheels 42 and 44 are spaced from the free ends of the legs30 and 32 respectively. Thus a portion of the legs 30 and 32 extendsbeyond the wheels G2 and 44 to render the latter inoperative when themembers 28 are in an upright position, and movement on the wheels isthereby prevented, To add stability however, the wheels 42 are in slightengagement with the supporting floor when the structure is in positionas a high chair. A cross bar 46 interconnects the free ends of each ofthe legs 32 and is covered with rubber or other suitable material toprovide a highly frictionable surface and thereby prevent slipping ofthe high chair on highly polished floor surfaces.

A handle is formed of a pair of interconnected members 48 pivotallyjoined at one end thereof as at 49 to the free ends of the legs 38 andis joined to the frame 12 by links 50. Links 58 are pivotally joined tothe handle 58 as at and to brackets 54 as at 56. These brackets arefixed directly to the frame l2 and extend rearwardly therefrom.

In addition to serving as a means for moving the assembly when themembers 28 are collapsed as in Fig. 1, the handle 48 is formed anddisposed to maintain the members 28 in an upright position as shown inFig. 3. This handle 48 is slightly arcuate as indicated at 58 and thisarcuate portion rests against the rearward edge of Y the bottom wall 26and with the aid of the link members 58, no additional fastening meansis necessary to maintain the entire assembly in position for use as ahigh chair.

As a safety feature however, a catch 66 swingably fixed to one of thebrackets 36 is provided to engage the handle 48.

The bottom wall 26 extends forwardly beyond the frame 26 and the footrest 4!] is carried by this extension in both the collapsed and uprightposition of the assembly. A handle 62 fixed to the rear face of backrest I8 is provided to be gripped by the user to facilitate movement ofthe structure I8 to and from a raised position.

The arm rests 22 each have a longitudinal groove 68 spaced inwardly fromthe bottom face thereof. A hand rail 66 has a pair of spaced apart bars68 projecting laterally therefrom, each of which bars 68 is providedwith a plurality of perforations 10. In operative position the bars 68are inserted in the grooves 64 of the arm rests 22 for free slidingmovement on the upper faces of the frame 20.

A substantially U-sh-aped yoke 12 is pivotally mounted in bearings 14 onthe back rest I 8. The free ends 16 of this yoke 12 pass throughopenings 78 in the back rest l8 and into the grooves 64 of the arm rests22. A cavity 88 in the arm rests 22 carries a leaf spring 82 foryieldably maintaining a down-turned tip 84 on ends 16 in one of theperforations Hi of the bars 68.

The yoke 12 is preferabl formed of resilient material and downwardpressure by the operator on flap 86 fixed the yoke 12 at the bightthereof causes the yoke 12 to turn in the bearings M which raises theends 16 thereof against the action of the springs 82 to release the handrail 66.

A tray 88 has a pair of bars 90 similar to those on the hand rail 66.Thus the tray 88 and the hand rail 66 are interchangeable and the onenot being used is fitted over the brackets 54 as illustrated in Fig. 3.When the assembly is used as a stroller, the tray 88 will always beavailable to place in operative position in exchange for the hand rail66 if the child is to be fed in a restaurant.

The tray 88 is of conventional character in that it is dish-shaped andparticularly adaptable to be used when the child is being fed and isdesigned from material that is easy to keep in a clean condition. Eachof the bars 68 and 96 of the hand rail 66 and the tray 88 respectivelyare longer than the lengths of the arm rests 22 whereby a space betweenthe proximal edges of the rests 22 and the tray 88 or the rail 66 isalways present to avoid pinching of the fingers of the inf-ant when thetray or rail is placed in operative position.

It is also notable that all of mechanism designated by the numerals 76,84 and 88 and the cooperative bars 68 or 90 are completely housed Withinthe arm rests 22 to prevent the occupant of the chair from moving thesame out of place or become injured by coming in contact therewith. Inthe same manner, the releasing mechanism I6 and 86 is located to therear of back rest 18 out of reach of the infant and thereby precludingmovement of the tray or rail once it is in place.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desiretobe secured by Letters Patent is:

1. In an article of furniture of the character described, a frame; aseat and a back rest on the frame; a pair of spaced arms interconnectingsaid seat and back rest, said arms each having a grooved portion thereinand a cavity adjacent to said grooved portion; a tray having a pair ofbars thereon, said bars each having a plurality of perforations thereinand being slidable in the grooved portions of said arms; a substantiallyU -shaped yoke of resilient material journalled on the rear side of saidback rest, the free ends whereof project into said grooved portions forreleasably engaging the perforations of said bars and holding the trayin a predetermined position spaced from said back rest; and a spring inthe cavity of each arm for yieldably maintaining said yoke in engagementwith said perforations.

2. In a chair having a back and a pair of spaced arm rests, a tray; apair of spaced, laterally extending, perforated arms on the tray, saidarm rests each having an elongated, longitudinal slot formed therein forslidably receiving a respective one of said perforated arms; and aU-shaped member swingably mounted on said back and having its legsextending into said slots of the arms, said legs each having ears formedthereon moveable, into and out of certain of said perforations as themember is swung on said back.

3. In a chair having a back and a pair of spaced arm rests, a tray; apair of spaced, laterally extending, perforated arms on the tray, saidarm rests each having an elongated, longitudinal slot formed therein forslidably receiving a respective one of said perforated arms; a U-shapedmember swingably mounted on said back and having its legs extending intosaid slots of the arms, said legs each having ears formed thereonmoveable, into and out of certain of said perforations as the member isswung on said back; and means in said slots for yieldably holding saidears within one of the perforations.

MORRIS G. RILEY. EDWARD M. RILEY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 292,067 Stevens Jan. 15, 1884399,069 Odell Mar. 5, 1889 612,792 Thompson Oct. 18, 1898 1,355,039Gibson Oct. 5, 1920 2,155,813 Veal Apr. 25, 1939 2,285,845 Stinson June9, 1942

